Avengers Contagion
by Charlott-Marie
Summary: Off-and-on SHIELD agent Scorpion aka Carmilla Black aka Thanasee Rappaccini, somehow gets involved with the Avengers. *edited and tweaked chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Avengers Contagion

This has got to be the longest elevator ride ever. I must have gotten on the wrong one, I thought to myself. I looked up at the light slowly moving behind each number. Come on, come on. The elevator sensors must have sensed my anxiousness and changed the music to more up-beat tempo. It still wasn't passing the time.

The music stopped and so did the elevator, but I was nowhere near the top floor. The shiny doors opened in front of me and there stood Barton and the Cap, deep in discussion about flappers.

"They're probably nothing compared to the dancers of this generation?" Barton commented. "Hey Carmilla. No wait, it's Thanasee now right?"

"Yeah, hi." I answered back. I stepped to the right of me and let the men take a stand on my left. I tried to get as far into the corner as I could. Barton stood quite close to his corner across from me, but the Captain stood near the middle. It probably wouldn't affect him. I hope. I'm sure it wouldn't.

Barton must have looked down at my arm when he asked me how it was.

"It's pretty sick." I replied, giving him a slight smile. He gave me a knowing smile back and let out a laugh. The Captain was a little confused, but let it slide.

"Looks like Tony'll have to tweak it a little." Barton said while pointing at his Avenger friend. I looked up and saw Cap's forehead dripping with sweat, and he was swallowing hard. "You ok there Cap?"

"Umm, yeah. I'm fine." He took a deep breathe in, and the Hawk grabbed his arm and pulled him against the elevator walls.

"Sorry, it just, sort of, happens." I apologized to him, to both of them. I noticed Hawk was looking a little green too.

"Jarvis…" Barton exclaimed. "Hurry it up."

"Yes sir." Jarvis had managed to make the elevator move much faster. Within a blink, we had arrived at our destination. The doors opened and the men quickly stepped out, more like ran out and I took my sweet time walking out of the elevator. Why didn't I think of that?

The last time I was at Stark tower, I was in the basement with all of Tony's suits. I was sitting on a table, waiting, remembering how I had gotten there.

Hawkeye and I were hiding in a closet. I was there first, gathering intel on where my mother was and I heard a noise. I quickly jumped into the closet and managed to climb up the walls to the ceiling and hang on for dear life. Hawkeye, Barton came rushing in quietly. Apparently he had the same idea, but probably not about looking for my mother. He was about to climb up when he noticed that his spot was taken.

"Sorry" I mouthed to him. More noises were being heard from the adjacent room. He decided to stand facing the door with his bow and arrow at the ready. I wasn't just nervous about the people on the other side of that door, but I was lethal. I had just started to learn how to control it. I had only killed one person before, and that was a complete accident. I really didn't need another name on my list. Barton was knocked down to one knee. It wasn't looking good, neither was he.

Just as he couldn't take it anymore, the other room went silent. This was it, my… our moment. He went out first and I slowly made my way down. Barton came back in and held out his hand. I didn't want to infect him more than I already had so I ignored his helping hand and jumped down.

"Umm, ok. Need any help?" He asked me.

"Nope, I'm good." I retorted. I tried to keep him at bay, but I guess I was too much of an oddity that I was in the room, that I had gotten there before he had.

"Are you looking for this?" Barton held up a USB stick at almost to eye level, but he couldn't hold his arm up any longer. He was getting sicker by the minute. I had all the information I wanted, I just needed to leave the room, leave the building and get home.

I ran out of the room, but he had managed to follow close behind. As sick as he looked, I had to give him credit.

"Can you just leave me alone? I don't need whatever it is you think I need." I yelled back at him.

"Who are you?" He slowed his pace when we reached the elevator. I really did a number on him.

"Look." I stopped and turned to face him as I pressed the down button. "You need to stay away from me. I'm toxic." He was leaning against the wall, catching his breath and looked up at me. "I'm serious. Take the stairs. Or wait for the next one." He laughed at me. "Really? Look at you. You're sweating buckets, your eyes are bulging out and you're having a hard time keeping up. You're sick Hawkeye."

"So you know me?"

"Yeah, everyone knows the Avengers." I guessed I had managed to persuade him and he stood up and held his hands up. "I work with SHIELD, sort of."

"Ok, you win. I'll back off." He dropped his hands and headed back to the stairwell we had passed on the way here. "Have a nice ride down."

"Thanks. And it won't last long. You'll feel better in no time. Just… keep your distance." I warned him. He had disappeared out of sight when the elevator finally arrived. I turned to it, just in time to see three security guards materialized. They had reached for their guns, but I had already run down half the corridor. I turned the corner and saw the stairwell door closing. I managed to get to the door before it shut. Barton was down a flight of stairs and I was quickly catching up. I took it three steps at a time. Barton heard all the noise I was making and turned to face me.

"Decided to take the stairs?"

"Run!" I yelled. He hesitated until he looked up the stair case and saw them. He took my advice. We were almost on the twelfth floor and Barton took that exit. It made sense, I thought to myself. They weren't after him. And I was right. I sneaked a peek after reaching the ninth and saw they had completely ignored good ol' Robin Hood.

I don't remember much after that. Everything happened so fast. Banner and Tony were trying to piece together what had happened. The seventh floor had caught on fire somehow, and I was the only survivor. I wasn't at the time. I guess Barton felt bad for ditching me and came to save me. He found me on the ground, my arm reaching toward the window. Maybe I meant to smash it and jump out. He carried me out. But I was dead. I'm still confused at how I got to Stark tower though. What we know now is that I have a filter in my trachea so I can withstand smoke, and my eyes are very reptilian, as though I have a lens that appears when it's cloudy. I knew so little about my powers that all I could do is sit in his little laboratory and stare at his suits.

Banner and Tony had gotten together to make a gauntlet to help me control my stinger. Well, I call it a stinger. My left arm leaks out a toxin so strong that it can kill a room full of men, maybe. I wouldn't dare try. One death was enough for me. But what else would you call it?

I had gone through many tests to find out what I can and can't do. I already knew I was adopted and my mother created me. I think they call it genetically engineered immunity to all toxins: biological, chemical and nuclear. I won't go into details about all the different tests, believe me, it was horrible, but worth it.

Now I'm upstairs. What do they need me for? The view is magnificent. I walked over to the enormous windows and had passed Pepper.

"Oh, hi Thanasee. What are you doing here?" Pepper Potts asked me. She was sitting in the lounge.

"Tony asked me to come. He told me he'd meet me here." I answered her.

"Oh right. He told me to tell you to head towards his lab. I can show you…"

"I know where that is. Thanks." I headed back to the elevator. Clearly something was going on, or Barton and Steve wouldn't be here. I couldn't really care less right now. It's not my problem. Probably some Avenger thing with Hydra. Still looking for Bucky. Maybe Loki's back.


	2. Chapter 2

I own none of it... Just my own twist on the story. *Had to go back, rewrite and add a few things. It seemed a little rushed.

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><p>I asked Jarvis to speed up the elevator ride, and I got to the lab in record time. Tony was there playing with his toys. Ok, I'll admit it. They are incredibly cool.<p>

"Finally. You're here." Tony called out to me. "Ready for your upgrade?"

"My upgrade?" I asked him. Is that why I'm here? Couldn't he have mailed it to me?

"Your little toxic gas preventative device."

"You mean my gauntlet?" Tony just looked at me with a little disappointment. I guess he was proud of the name he came up with.

"Hold out your arm." I held out my right arm and he just sighed. I thought it was a little funny. I gave him the correct arm and he snapped off the old gauntlet and snapped on a bracelet. "This one is a little better, more like a designer gauntlet. It's not a big ol' metal arm cast. It can be if you need it to, but for now and everyday use it looks like a common bracelet."

"But it's so thin? How..."

"How does it keep your toxins docile? There's a protective almost invisible membrane that protects us and other people from your secretion. You can't and won't feel it. You'll still have some secretion though, your toxicity is really strong, but not enough to harm anyone. Not fatally anyway, and a lot less leakage than the previous gadget." I guess he noticed my chagrin at the news that I'll never be as close to normal as possible. "I'll keep working on it. There probably won't be another upgrade for a while." He gave me a smile, and I smiled back. "Now, just make a fist and tense your arm a little." I did, and...

"Wow!"

"Wow indeed." Tony really outdid himself this time. "My own little doodad. The bracelet can feel your muscles tense and it expands over your hand and fingers and up past your elbow, ready for battle or what not. I'm working on a little something else for you." He patted my back and started to walk away, I felt as though I should follow but I was too distracted by the awesome bracelet. I looked up and he was gone. I headed in his direction all the while tensing and un-tensing, watching the bracelet extend and retract. "This is what I'm working on. I don't usually like to show my work in progress but you're a tough nut." I relaxed my arm when I saw it. A brand new suit. My battle armor. Tony kept talking about the metal they had to use to build things for me, it couldn't be as pliable because of the gas and so on, I wasn't paying any attention. The armor was beautiful, a little aggressive looking, but pretty cool. He'd only gotten the body of the suit done, it was black with green almost zebra print on the front.

"Is that a..." I started to ask him when I saw the back.

"It is." He replied proudly.

A tail. A black tail with green details.

"Now you'll have a true stinger." I looked back at Stark and smiled the biggest smile I'd ever given anyone. He smiled back and approached the suit. "You can touch it. It's quite soft to the touch, almost like a second skin. The stinger here in the back, well, I won't go into detail, but now you can reach the bad guys who are further away from you and gas them. It's a little heavy right now, I'll fix that."

"Sir." Jarvis spoke. "The Avengers are waiting for you upstairs."

"Has Thor arrived?"

"No sir."

"Well, that's great. Be right up." Tony headed towards the lift. "You didn't tell him yet." He yelled back at me.

"Umm, no. I want to make sure he is first." I answered back.

"Well, don't take forever. Who knows, he might be happy about it. I'm sure he wants kids. Not that you're a kid, I just..." He stopped held the doors open. "Just tell him. Can't hurt." He smile a short smile and off he went.

I suppose so. It can't hurt to tell him what I think. Maybe he can help with a bit of DNA. That's if his other half lets him. My mother and he did hook up back then, but things are different now. Mother is missing and he's, well, sort of lost in himself.

"Are you coming?" Tony asked. "Since we're both going up."

"Oh, yeah. Hold on." I hurriedly grabbed the strap of my backpack and got in with him.

Tony and I stood side by side on our travel upwards, but the elevator didn't stop on the ground floor. "Hey, Jarvis, what's up?" Questioned Tony.

"There is something needing your urgent attention on the top floor." Tony and I looked at each other. We looked back at the closed doors and prepared ourselves.

The doors opened, and debris and a clouds of dust swarmed the elevator. My reptilian eyes were able to adjust quite quickly. As the dust started to die down, a figure was rushing towards Tony. It had gotten to arm's length, my arm tensed and it sprung to its throat. The figure tried to pry my fingers from his neck to no avail. His body shook and tried to get away.

"Don't. You. Dare." I warned him. My grip tightened. He gasped for air. My gauntlet was working overtime. The glow my arm made was getting brighter and he was getting sicker. The dust had almost settled when I saw that Tony and he were mere centimeters apart. This big brute with really nice hair wore green armor. My favourite colour.

"Put me down." He pleaded. "Unhand me." I looked to Tony. He nodded his head in agreement.

"Seriously?" My brows furrowed and gave him my best 'really' face.

"Yeah." Tony gently took hold of my weaponised arm and I immediately released the guy. Tony lead us out of the elevator and into his destroyed lounge. "You're one of Thor's friends?"

"Yes." He wheezed and stood up straighter. "I am Fandral, one of the Warrior Three. And you, my friend," He looked to me. "Are very quick. And strong. And quite potent as well." He looked at me with his bright eyes and charming smile. His colour was coming back. Was I supposed to thank him? I couldn't help but smile back at him. Please don't tell me I'm fangirling over an Asgardian? I have to say, he heals very fast. "I am here with an invitation to his Midgardian friends, the Avengers." Look at all that charm. _Stop it_! I told myself.

"Uh huh." Tony replied, half listening. He was looking around the room. Some of the Avengers were climbing out of hiding from the bar, Banner was coming back in from outside and Hawkeye was in the middle of the room, panting and being held back by Rogers.

"Come!" Fandral started, as though nothing had happened. "Let us go now." He started walking towards the outdoors and rose his arm to ask for Heimdall's help in transportation, when Tony stopped him.

"Yeah... but first, what happened here? My lounge, my living space. I just had the windows replaced."

"Barton and Fandral got into a pissing match." Captain said. "Who was the better marksman." Clint was still wanting to get at Fandral, with him none the wiser.

"And?" I asked. I was actually curious. Everyone just stared at me. I lowered my gaze and looked away.

"It does not matter now." Fandral's attempt at changing the subject was a cute try. "Shall we depart?"

"Depart for what?" Natasha asked.

Fandral laughed a hardy laugh. One you don't hear unless you're watching a movie from the 1940's. "To Asgard of course." Fandral was so charismatic and charming, he had somehow managed to drag us all out to Stark Tower's balcony. "Heimdall, now!" What happened next, I could only put into one word, _crap_!


	3. Chapter 3

Edited, added and changed a few things. - I own none of it.

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><p><em>Crap<em>! What was happening? All I remember is Fandral saying some gibberish word, Hammer's droll or something, loudly and now we're moving really fast. Keeping my eyes looking to where I was headed was all I could do to not throw up. With a flash of light, our merry band of weirdos stumbled into a dome. I wasn't ready for this. I couldn't move. I wouldn't dare move. My eyes slowly gazed at my surroundings. It was bronze-like. The floors were gleaming with little crystals in them. On my right was an exit. I stood my ground while the others headed out. I heard mumbling nearby. It was faint, but deep.

"May I be of assistance?" The voice became less garbled. "You seem disoriented." The tall dark man in gold was approaching me from his station in the center of the room. He had left his sword in its slot and looked to me. His golden eyes were mesmerizing. Soft, but you would dare not cross them. "Are you well?" He asked me.

"I'm fine, thank you. A little confused as to why I'm here, but glad to be on solid ground." Is what I should have said. What I actually said was, well, it was more of a bunch of noises and then a big deep in-take of air. Before he had gotten to me, I fell to the ground onto all fours and tried to crawl out of the dome. If I was going to throw up, I wouldn't dare do it on this really pretty floor. I wouldn't dare look up. I kept my eyes down and concentrated on where I was going. _'Oh my God. Oh my God._" Those words just kept repeating themselves in my mind. I knew if I opened my mouth, something other than words would come out. Black gleaming floor. I saw my reflection off the floor. I didn't look good. I shut my eyes. I kept crawling. _Oh my God! Oh my God!_ I kept crawling until the floor texture was different, then I know it would be safe to throw up. I was close, the wind was picking up. Outside was coming closer. It felt like forever. And there it was. My fingers and hands felt a slight change of the surface. I opened my eyes in the hopes I wouldn't be vomiting on someone's shoes. What I saw made me swallow hard.

"What?" I cried out. I was in such shock that I had propelled myself off of all fours and onto my butt. I quickly crawled backwards when I felt something stop me. I wanted to cry. I wanted to be sick. I wanted to go home. I wanted to leave.

"Thanasee, it is a lot to ask of you, but please, do stay calm." Heimdall asked of me. He knelt beside me. His hand held me up, and his other on my knee.

"Colours."

"You mean the rainbow bridge?" I nodded.

My need to vomit subsided. There was something in his warm touch that helped me calm down. The bridge was beautiful. It made me forget that horrible journey to Asgard. The twisting, the spinning, the it's-out-of-my-control, the I-don't-know-where-I'm-going feelings. Heimdall helped me to my feet and smile down at me.

"You are running behind. I suggest you catch up to your friends." He suggested to me.

"They aren't... I probably... I will. Thank you." I noticed little beads of sweat rolling down his forehead under his helmet. Oh crap! My stinger is affecting him, I'd better run off now. I watched as Heimdall walked back to his post. I turned on my heels and faced the bridge. It was beautiful, and I didn't want to step on it and ruin it's beauty. I started off, very behind the gang of Avengers. The surroundings were astounding. My gaze followed a shooting star downwards.

"_That was a bad idea!_" I told myself. Heights I don't mind. But this, this is ridiculous! Beautiful, but ridiculous. I fell to my knees and decided to crawl my way to the end.

_This is ridiculous_. I decided the best way to catch up was to run. I took a deep slow breath in, slowly got up from all fours, dusted my knees off, arms at my side to steady myself and ran. I may have looked stupid, but I made it. I got to the end of the Rainbow Bridge. I may have been running a little too fast because the next thing I know is Doctor Banner holding me up from fear of collapsing from fright. He was waiting for me.

"Hey, running a little late."

"Yeah." I tried to catch my breath."I'm not too sure why I'm here. I'm not one of you. I'm not Thor's friend."

"Not yet." Bruce trying to be friendly and raising my spirits. Yeah, I'll tell him later.

"Thanks. I guess." I caught up to his steps and we walked together to Thor's home away from Midgard. "This is where he grew up?" I asked Bruce.

"Yeah, royalty. Really snazzy in there too."

"Snazzy?" I raised an eyebrow. "Snazzy?" I repeated.

"Yeah, I get it. Old timey words."

"I don't even think they ever said it." We continued on our way, laughing and talking.

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><p>It was Thor's coronation. Jane by his side, he stood tall and proud in front of the throne. There was a sadness in his eyes. Loki wasn't a horrible King, selfish yes, but not a bad one. He just didn't belong.<p>

The leader/minister/priest guy was speaking gibberish, waving a sword and his hand in the air.

"Someone's watching you." I heard Bruce whispering next to me. I looked around. He nodded his head towards the altar. The Warrior Three and Sif were standing on each step, and I caught his eye. As charming as he was, Fandral wasn't my type. He was, he's, umm... I don't actually see what the problem was. Maybe he's wearing too much armor. Yes, that's it. Maybe. He sure gave Clint a run for his money. Fandral smiled at me and winked. I felt my cheeks getting warm. My thoughts were interrupted when the room roared with claps and haulers and hoots. I stood up and clapped along. I let out a hoot, and startled Bruce.

"Sorry, I got caught up."

The parade of Asgardian heroes walked from the altar and down the aisle. And again Fandral had met my gaze. He smiled and shivers went down my spine and up my arms. My fingers were tingling. I blushed, hard. It felt like the world slowed down. Our eyes looked over every inch of each other. _Please don't tell me that this is love_, I thought.

We followed the crowd to the dining hall. Many were already feasting, and so was Fandral. I sat at the table with the other Midgardian heroes and watched the party.

"I wouldn't." Natasha warned me. "Women know his kind. You know that. Just don't."

"Thanks." I answered back. "I don't know why he makes me feel all weird and stuff. It's like he..."

"He smiles at you and it feels like you're the only one?"

"Yeah, like that."

"It happens. That's part of his charm." Natasha smiled at me. "But hey, don't you have Har..."

"We're on a break." I cut her off, I wasn't ready to bring him up. "Sort of." In truth, I left him. Things were getting a little too serious. Not with our relationship, but with work commitments, and stuff.

A cold breeze just entered the room. Everyone stopped and looked around. A cloud a dark purple and black smoke rose from the center of the room. Screams were heard all around the room.

The Hood.

"Hope I didn't ruin the party." The Hood started, waving his hands about trying to clear the smoke he created. "Congrats on the whole 'I'm now the King of Asgard' thing. Good job." He walked over to the nearest table and grabbed a goblet. "Cheers, or whatever." He was about to take a gulp when an Asgardian ran up to him. With a snap of the Hood's fingers, two figures appeared beside him. The attacker stopped in his tracks. No one had ever seen the Brothers Grimm until that night. They are quite gruesome. "I don't think you'd want to try that one again. And besides," he continued after drinking the goblet's fill. "It's not the right atmosphere for a fight. And kinda unfair too, inebriated and everything. A room full of love." He stretched his arms out to his sides as though he'd been preaching. His mouth didn't move, but every Avenger heard him. "Enjoy this night Avengers. It shall be your last. Probably. Hopefully." He disappeared along with the Brothers. The room was no longer silent. Silent buzzing rose from every party goer.

Natasha nudged my arm. "Come on... Assemble."

"But I'm not..." I tried to explain that I'm not one of them but she pushed me towards the Supergroup. "Ok, stop pushing." I kept my distance but still followed close behind. We all went to a separate room. I shut the door behind us and waited next to it.

It was a beautiful room. Not as nice as the room we'd just left but it was still nice.

I wasn't really paying any attention. I heard a few words here or there. It was more or less, who is he? What is he doing? What does he want? and so on. I was worried about how everyone would be feeling because of my stinger. The new gauntlet seems to be working really well. Only affects people if they actually touch me for a longer period of time. Poor Heimdall. My thoughts were interrupted when a voice rang in.

"Nice room you have here." Everyone stopped talking. "I knew you'd get away from the crowd. Alas my dear Avengers, my patience wore thin. Forget about tomorrow. This is happening now."


	4. Chapter 4

*Needed some editing and some adding. Hope you like it.

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><p>As soon as the Hood's voice stopped speaking, we weren't in Asgard anymore. We were in some sort of cold grey room. We were standing in the same spot, just in a whole different room, different building and probably a different planet. <em>Why couldn't we have traveled this way with Fandral? So much faster and vomit-proof.<em>

I had a look around the room, thick grey walls, stronger than cement, and a door to my right. I walked around the room inspecting the walls and floors. So was the rest of the team. They gathered around the door until I looked across from me.

"Bruce?" I asked aloud. "Are you ok?" He was sweating and shaking. He raised his head a little and I saw the pain in his face. Slowly, I approached him. "Doctor Banner? Breathe. Stay calm." By then everyone's attention was on us. Well, on Bruce. His skin was getting green tinted. His breathing was getting faster and deeper. The Captain spoke first.

"Everyone, let's go. Out the door. Now!" We all headed for the door. I was slowly backing away from Bruce. I'm guessing that's how I got the green hair. I think. I need to tell him what I know. But now is not a good time. He was getting bigger, and his clothes were ripping at the seams.

"Thanasee, out now!" The Captain yelled at me from outside the room. Bruce growled incredibly loudly and I made a run for it. I had reached the door then bam! No door. There was no longer a door. My hands felt the wall hoping my mind was playing tricks on me. There has to be a door. The knob was just there, it was right there. I started hitting the wall with closed fists. I heard nothing from the other side. Soundproof too. Great. I looked around the room, no door. Anywhere.

"No, please. Let me out. Help! Please!" My gauntlet expanded, but it didn't help. It just made small scratches in the wall. A growl grew louder behind me. His body was changing and morphing. "Please Bruce. Stay calm." _Stay calm._ "Try to. Breathe. Yes breathe, breathe in, breathe out." I was in a panic. I did my best to appear calm. It's not working. I had nothing to help him with. I tried the door again, or at least where the door used to be. I'll admit it, I was scared. I wasn't sure what was going to happen. Bruce was hulking out.

"Hope you have a good time." Hood was back. "Thanasee, am I correct?"

"You're addressing me, personally. Don't I feel special. I should be feeling special, right?"

"Of course. Not that you're not special enough already, but I am not the one to be making you feel this way. Am I, Dr. Banner?" Bruce grunted, I don't think he knows what's going on. I hope he doesn't. This isn't how I wanted him to find out.

"You had better do something quickly. He's waking up." The hood informed me.

The voice had gone. I turned to face the wall, wishing the door would appear. He's playing with our lives. Putting us against each other. I punched the wall again. _I'm scared_. My eyes were welling up, and my chest was getting heavy. A huge shadow cast against the wall. I felt his breathe and his warmth on my back. My hair moved with every breath he took. _I'm scared. I can't do this. I can't fight him. I don't want to fight him._

I turned around and faced him. I looked up and held my arms up.

"Please Bruce. Please remember. You're not Hulk. Please." He screamed at me and backed me into the wall. I kept my arms up. I looked at his face again and my eyes focused onto my arm. My gauntlet.

"Please don't hurt me." I pleaded with him. "I don't want to hurt you." He growled once more. "Try to hurt you." I corrected myself. Hulk raised his fist and flung at me. My stinger rose up and grabbed it. He was surprised and so was I. I managed to stop him, of sorts. He came at me with another blow. I didn't see it, and it blindsided me. The hit threw me across the room. I dodged a few hits and he landed quite a few. I just needed to touch him for a longer period. He swung too hard and he spun around. I jumped on his back.

I powered up my gauntlet and just let out the toxins, just enough to tire him out. It wasn't affecting him. I kept trying.

"I'm sorry, but I have to do this." I explained to him, between him running back into the wall and me steadying my stinger. "You need to calm down Bruce."_  
><em>

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><p>"Thanasee!" The door knob was right there in his hand, and now what was the door is now part of the wall. Captain America was starting to panic. Hitting and punching the wall, but nothing. No one had their weapons, they were all back home. Who knew how long Stark's suit would take to get here, where ever here is. The Captain's shield? Thor's hammer? Bow and arrow? What were they going to do? Steve spun around, trying to find another way in, but turned and saw nothing. He was in his own room with Clint. The archer was on the other side of the room.<p>

"Cap, the wall, it just... appeared!" Clint said.

"I can see that." Captain America had enough. Not only was he and Clint now in danger, but Thanasee was in a room alone, with a hulking out Bruce Banner. Who knows what was going on with the others?

"Hope you are enjoying yourselves?" The Hood's voice reappeared. "Well, not that I was really asking."

"What do you want?" Clint asked.

"What's the point in all this?" Captain Rogers asked in turn.

"There is no point." The Hood returned. "Actually, I'm not even sure why I'm talking to you. Let's just get this started shall we?" A puff of purple smoke appeared and the Enchantress emerged from it. A tall blonde with killer legs materialized and the boys didn't know what to do.

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><p>"Well, that's great." Tony remarked. He and Sam were being toyed with by none other than Mystique, of the Brotherhood. Tony kept glancing at his watch, hoping the homing beacon would start flashing faster to let him know how close his suit was. It was barely even blimping, if that's a word.<p>

"I could really use some help here." Sam cried out to him.

Just then, a huge fist ran through Mystique's jaw, but instead of hitting her face, the surface merely de-materialized. Thor's mighty fist had made contact, of sorts with the apparition.

"It plays mind games." Thor bellowed to his fellow Avengers. "None of it is real."

"It feels real." Tony and Sam were badly bruised. They probably had a few cracked ribs between them. Thor walked over to Natasha who was slightly shaking against the wall. He gently put his hand on her shoulder.

"It wasn't real." He repeated to her in a whisper.

"Yeah, I know." She gave him a small smile. She was very shook up by what had happened in their room. All was fine until Kang showed up. As the trio faught, she became more tired and weak. She became easier to throw. What ever it was, it had no affect on Thor. She had no idea what he was doing, but Thor insisted that she keep fighting. Natasha thought he meant physically. Had she known that Thor meant mentally, they would have gotten out sooner. It felt like they had been in that room for ages. She kept throwing punches and dodging fists, she noticed her hands were thinning. She was becoming frail. She was aging, and rapidly._ How could this be?_ She thought. Her hair was turning grey, her shoulders were hunching over. She couldn't stand on her feeble legs anymore and she fell to the ground.

"Romanoff!" Thor cried out to her. She tried not to think about it. Her eyes were watering. Her strength, her prowess, were was dying."Fight this! You can! You must!" This couldn't be happening. It was too soon, it came too fast. She felt something in her rise and her strength came back. One swift kick to Kang and he was gone, vanishing in a puff of black smoke. Natasha felt her full strength come back and breathed in the, somewhat, fresh air. Thor was about to try and comfort her when the fourth wall faded away and Tony and Sam's failing fight broke the silence.

When Tony and Sam realized it was all fantasy, their fourth wall broke and what they saw was, there's no other word to say it, bizarre. The Captain and Hawkeye were fighting. Hawkeye was trying to end Steve's life, but the Captain was on the defensive. In the far corner, the Enchantress stood there, unaware of her new guests.

"Amora!" Thor's voice thundered. The beautiful Asgardian was caught off guard and faced her accuser. Realizing who he was, she gave a small smile and faded away. So was the spell the Hawkeye was under. It was a little too late as one of Steve's punches landed on the left side of his temple. Natasha ran to his aid and the Captain walked to the other Avengers.

"Are you alright?" Thor asked Clint. "That was the Enchantress, she must have had you under her spell."

"Again?" Clint complained.

"Another spell on the bowman." Tony chimed in.

"Yeah," Natasha quipped. "Weird how it still affected you even though she was just a mirage?" Hawkeye's eye grew wide.

"Was she? That's weird." He added.

"You mean she wasn't real?" The Captain questioned Thor, all the while looking at Clint. "So that kiss she gave him, didn't have any potency?"

"Kiss?" Natasha inquired.

"Umm, yeah. Please don't tell Bobbi." He asked them all to promise.

Just then, the door appeared, the first door that disappeared. They all stood there. They knew Banner had Hulked. But what would they find once they walked in? Would his change have subsided and he'd be alright playing crazy eights with Thanasee? Would there even be a Thanasee?

Captain America stood to the door and held the handle in his hand. He looked back at everyone, and they at him. He nodded his head and he turned the knob. They were prepared to fight, whatever it was that happened, they would deal.

The door swung open and the Captain's face was grim.


End file.
